The Tales of Huckleberry Hound: Season 2

19. What's in Store?

It was a rainy, gloomy day in Hill Street Neighborhood, and Huckleberry Hound was ambling along the sidewalk under his umbrella. Though he loved the refreshing smell of the rain upon the grass and soil, it still made the day feel dreary. He paused as he came to the park, staring out at the flower field.

"Rain, rain...go away," he sang. "Hmm, come to think of it, better stay. The flowers need a good drink. And besides, a little rain can't dampen my spirit! Heck, I think I'll sing a different song! I feel a mite inspired to go hop in a puddle too!"

He splashed in a nearby puddle and waved his umbrella around as he started to smile and sing happily.

"I'm singin' in the rain...just singin' in the rain.
What a glorious feelin', I'm happy again..."

Just then, he heard a big commotion from down the street. Curious, he started to make his way away from the park and further into town. He soon noticed a large crowd of people all gathered around in front of a large building.

"I wonder what's going on!" he said. "Whatever it is, it must be something good!"

He walked over to the crowd and tried to get a closer look, and to his surprise, there was something going on at the building: it was a brand new department store!

"Excuse me!" he called. "What's going on here?"

"Everyone's trying to get in!" a woman cried. "The department store just opened!"

Huck wanted to get in, but the crowd was so busy looking at different things, he couldn't see the entrance. But then, he heard his friends, Pixie, Dixie, Mr. Jinks, Yogi Bear, and Boo-Boo coming.

"Hi, Huck!!" they chorused as they came down the block.

"Oh, hi, fellers!" Huck replied as he turned around. "What are you guys doing?"

"We're waiting to get in along with everyone else!" Jinks replied, tapping his foot impatiently. "When are they finally gonna open the doors?"

"Hopefully right about..."

Just then, the crowd started clamoring excitedly as the doors opened, and they made their way inside.

"...now!"

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Yogi cried. "Let's go!"

They ran into the department store and started looking around. They couldn't believe their eyes! There were so many things to see! The front of the store had a lot of large displays filled with special novelty items and household products all marked with signs that read "Grand opening specials."

"Oh, looky here!" Huck said, picking up a fancy hat. He decided to try it on. "How do I look?"

The rest of the gang began to chuckle with amusement. "You look funny, Huck!" Dixie giggled.

They then moved on to a section that excited them: a whole section full of toys! They saw teddy bears, jack in the boxes, tricycles, bouncy balls, pogo sticks, dolls, and even some race cars and toy trains! Boo-Boo and Jinks soon saw a red box with a yellow star on it. On the side was a small handle.

"Uhhh, what's this?" the little bear cub asked.

"Glad you asked!" Huck replied as he grabbed the box. "Watch!"

He started turning the handle as the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel" started playing. "I love this tune!" he chuckled. But then, as the song ended, a little clown popped out of the box!

"YIPE!!" Jinks screeched, leaping backwards.

But Huck and Boo-Boo were laughing pretty hard. "Ohhh, that was so funny!!" Boo-Boo cried.